inappropriate boss behaviour

[marypoppins2]

Hi there,
Just wanted to test the water on this one and get some feed back from any nannies out ther. Mums please feel free to also offer your opinions.
I have had my boss constantly phoning me in the evenings and weekends for ridiculous reasons like 'do I know where the kids socks are' or 'hi what you doing at the moment' or being bored on a saturday when her husband isn't home and instead of phoning one of the many friends she says she has calls me and if I don't answer sends me several text messages.
I told her that my evenings and weekends are my own and the only reason she needs to call me is in an absolute emergency or on Sunday night to change what time I need to be in on Monday. When she heard this she hit the roof and ranted on about not meeting her needs. I explained that I'm not her pa, gal pal or housekeeper. If she wants to have a girlie chat call a friend. I keep the house tidy all week so if she can't find something at the weekend it's because she's lost it Saturday morning so I would have no idea where it is.
I've been nannying for 15 years and have never come up against this before. I've always had a good relationship with previous bosses and communication has been good but they have respected that I work a long day and my time is my time.
Anyone out there met with anything like this ?

I'm going for a few interviews, but it is grasping at scraps. When they ask why I'm leaving I just say it's because she's being made redundant, which is true it's just a month earlier because of emotional outburst. She has written me a reference which is without emotion but also without bitching so that ties in with explanation.
Won't follow with tribunal or small claims court as long as she pays what she's commited to in my notice letter.

least you got a ref

good luck with job hunt - what area are you in?

maybe someone on here knows of a nice job?

so glad I'm no longer a nanny.

In my last job, I was babysiting one night and the mother phoned me to ask to me th take the children home as she couldn't cope anymore and was going to end it Her partner then came home and told me to leave, it was absolutely horrendous, the arguements they had were awfulm, all I could do was turn the music on really loud and dance around with the kids 3 floors down fromt eh screaming - so wish I'd called SS on them.

Thanks for the support it's much appreciated. I'm based in North London and need a 5 day a week job to bring in the money I require to pay my bills.
If you hear of anyone looking then please direct them this way.
Thanks again

Blondes - Yes, sorry , it is a minimum of a year. Thought the rules had changed but no. Seems really unfair that someone can be just thrown out of their job on a whim through no fault of their own and they have no legal protection.

It is very different to a nanny giving notice if they find another job, all the employer has to do is find a replacement. Might take up a bit of time, but does not uproot their life and destroy their financial security. This is what happens to an employee who is simply cast off in this way for no good reason.

Jack99 I think loosing your nanny does uproot your life actually!! I don't think nannies are that easily replaced! Well I KNOW I'm not that easily replaced anyway!!

The nanny is a big part of the families life and most importantly the children's. They come to rely on and love their nannies and it is a security thing for them. Also finding a nanny that fits the family can be as hard for them as for us. It also could affect their jobs as in reliability and having to take time off if they can't find a replacement.

The fact is that changing nannies is hard for the families and the nannies and I hate leaving a job the most as it is usually heartbreaking if you and they care or hurtful if they don;t

Yes, Simplyme, I do see that losing a nanny is very inconvenient for employer apart from the emotional aspects, but if a month's notice is given it should be possible to make arrangements for cover even if short term solutions are used for a while.

It does not compare with the problems faced by an employee who loses their job through no fault of their own - repossession, homelessness, inability to pay bills...

My sympathies are with the wrongly dismissed employee, not with the employer facing some short term inconvenience.

The wrongly dismissed employee has all of my sympathies but why are you comparing a wrongly dismissed employee with an employer given notice?
How about a wrongly dismissed employee with a 'left in the lurch' employer??

Lets compare apples with apples here!!

Simplyme, my original post was in reply to Blondeshavemorefun, who was complaining that no-one had sympathy with an employer who is given one months notice by a nanny, which she would have to do to leave her job lawfully.

The issue of an employee leaving without giving the required notice is completely different, and you never mentioned that was your issue - has it happened to you?

If that happens, the employee has breached their contract and the employer is entitled to pursue them for damages, in the same way an employee dismissed without notice can sue for damages.

In the OPs case, she is being given one months notice per her contract but then will be jobless, and in the current economic climate that is not a good position to be in. She has NO legal remedy, even though she gave her employer no good reason to sack her.

You were talking about completely DIFFERENT apples, but never told us!

Simplyme - actually, as you asked, lets compare the wrongly dismissed employee with a 'left in the lurch' employer.

The first has no income and in the current economic climate may find it very difficult to find a new job in the near future. result: no income. Which can easily lead to home repossession and homelessness, ruined credit rating, and all round disaster in all aspect of their life.

The second has a very inconvenient situation, no question, and in the short term this may lead to some loss of earnings as they have to take time off while they arrange emergency childcare. of course, an employee is legally entitled to some time off (albeit unpaid) to deal with childcare emergencies, so they will NOT lose their job over this. Then they will arrange a long term replacement. So a short term hassle, but no permanent harm.

No real comparison, is there????